what would you do serious question

[slipperyfrog]

If he signed a contract then charge him the deposit. If not I would consider part of the issue my problem.

 

[2 see signz]

Invoice him for your time and materials. Then give him credit for the balance. That way he needs to come back to you for future work.

best reply on here

 

[TwoNine]

Well, I never.....

 

[Dave Drane]

You seriously considering keeping his money?

Why would you take a deposit if you were going to give it back? you buy the material do the bid, and waste your time for zilch?? I don't get that at all?

 

[TyrantDesigner]

Personally I would probably tell them that since the materials are already ordered and in stock that I would hold them in case he has a different vehicle to wrap (in an alotted time) but the deposit isn't refundable, just transferable. but otherwise just be truthful, don't be confrontational and for the most part keep your money in your shop for work done and expected ... offering the deposit as a transferable comodity in your shop lets him either use it for other work to rebuild the relationship or get a different vehicle for him to wrap,

oh, and new vehicle is a new art fee.

 

[TyrantDesigner]

You seriously considering keeping his money?

I would, but then again on large jobs once work has started (ordering, production, etc) my contracts state no refunds. I will transfer the deposit (minus any costs already incurred), but yeah ... I would.

 

[signguy 55]

I had a similar situation while back. Customer gave me a deposit on a large lighted cabinet and pan face, he later went to another sign shop referred to him by a friend of his. They still had the old cabinet from where the business had gone belly up.

He calls me on the phone, telling me he had found the original cabinet and this other sign shop would do the new face and he would be "coming by to talk to me about it". I quickly made an 18" x 24' coroplast sign in yellow and black that stated a bunch of "legalese" about no deposits refunded. When he came in I pointed to the sign. We eventually traded out the deposit's in other sign work. That little sign helped me in other situations after that. I would think about adding a sentence in the sales contract would really help.

 

[weaselboogie]

I might give him a partial refund of the deposit, depending on how much time he wasted with me. Mark it up as a "restocking fee".

Was there any design involved at this point? That would make a big difference with me.

 

[MesaSigns]

I would return the deposit. Its not like you started to print the job, if you did now thats a different story.

 

[fmg]

Thanks for all the replies and advice Ladies and Gentleman, some real good posts here.
At this point yes there is an agreement and materials have been ordered.
There is no design at present however I have started to work on opening a few e mails sent by the customer regarding his logo and content into the design.
I would like to try and resolve this so both customer and I are happy.
I like the idea of charging for re-stocking fee and small amount of time incurred as a penalty charge Say 10% of the total cost of the wrap.I also like the idea of possibly offering him a credit against future work be it the van if he does make the purchase or some other work he may need.What makes me nervous is that he may go elsewhere and have the work done at a cheaper rate so I have to keep my guard up here.
I have a meeting with him today so will keep you informed.
Once again I am most grateful for your time and help in this sticky matter.
Thank you.

 

[royster13]

I am sure legally you could get away with keeping the deposit, however, it is not the right thing to do.....

Find out the future status of the job and if it will never proceed, give him back his deposit less any expenses....And remember this person may be a client down the road and that has a value....

 

[ForgeInc]

i feel like technically you COULD keep it all, as others have stated that's what deposits are for but you have to judge that against risk of losing future work with customer. If he is literally going elsewhere for cheaper then screw him, not someone you'd wanna do business with long term anyway.

However if his story is legit, and you give him most or all of his money back...chances are his appreciation will bring him back when he's ready for this wrap or other jobs.

Either way, i bet you'll find a job that uses those materials soon...

 

[artbot]

is it me or is the motivation still balancing on "what's in it for me"? you can't replace a piece of your soul with a dollar. things aren't connected so directly in life. i work with the most honest business man i've ever met. he'd rather lose money than be considered opportunistic in such a situation. he's now listed in the fortune 5000 fastest growing company list. why? everyone trusts him. if he says "i'm not making a profit", or "this client needs a discount" he is to be believed.

it's not about money. it's about business. long term karma stuff.

 

[HulkSmash]

Why would you take a deposit if you were going to give it back? you buy the material do the bid, and waste your time for zilch?? I don't get that at all?

When I list myself as a full service sign shop, we stock the the essentials for wraps in general signage. There have several times when people give me deposits for a wrap, or some signs. I charge them for the design we've done, and give them back the rest. The only time they don't get their money back, it's when we have to order something specialty, like some dimensional signage, or reflective...In that case if i can't return the stuff.. they pay for it.. if i can return it.. i give them their money back. Not everyone is like me though....I'm not keeping someones money if I'm not doing their job. I do take what is rightfully mine though.. design time, restocking fee, or a nonreturnable product.

 

[Graphics2u]

i feel like technically you COULD keep it all, as others have stated that's what deposits are for but you have to judge that against risk of losing future work with customer. If he is literally going elsewhere for cheaper then screw him, not someone you'd wanna do business with long term anyway.

However if his story is legit, and you give him most or all of his money back...chances are his appreciation will bring him back when he's ready for this wrap or other jobs.

Either way, i bet you'll find a job that uses those materials soon...

Treat them right and they will come back. I have a syaing that I use when someone comes in and they are a past customer or sometimes not even a customer but a potential one. Depending on what they need, many times I'll just help them out, or give them a break on a job, especially when it really was nothing. I just tell Them "I'm just here to make friends, just remeber me in the future." Now while that obviously isn't completely true, because I have to make a living too, it has seemed to work well with encouraging people to come back when they need a bigger job.

 

[GoodPeopleFlags]

Only charge him for what you're out. That's the only right thing to do. Treat the customer how you would want to be treated. No need to make a profit on his unfortunate circumstances, especially when you didn't do anything to earn it.

 

[artbot]

or, say he gave you $1000. you bought a $300 roll of whatever. that's it other then discussing a project for 15 minutes. keep the roll and ask him what he does for a living. then offer $1300 in free labor. boom everyone's even.

 

[fmg]

Only charge him for what you're out. That's the only right thing to do.

$1600 in materials.

 

[HulkSmash]

$1600 in materials.

what wrap material did you buy that cost you 1600??

 

[Gino]

I agree with Color.......

If this person came to you and you represented yourself as being a full blown wrap place.... why wouldn't you already have everything and anything already in-house in stock ??

There is nothing custom about having this stuff in stock at any given time, if you offer these services. Sure, if he had order carbon-fiber or comply reflective... that is 'Special Order' stuff, then you keep everything it cost you and he gets what's left over. Other-wise, he's alerted you to the fact, he can't proceed. Even if he found it cheaper and is getting out of it sneaky.... you'll be using the material eventually.

A deposit does not seal a deal in a contract. You are not entitled to keep a deposit unless you have your quote stating it that way. The signature and dating does that as holding a contract in tact. The deposit is merely a way of the customer paying towards his own project.... not a deal sealer.